Test Match Cricket is the truest and the classical form of playing cricket, red-ball cricket is still watched today by millions in an otherwise T20-dominated era. From the Outright wins to the most thrilling draws and last-hour plays on Day 5 Test cricket the best format to groom a player.
But, there have also been many instances where nature played a big role in ensuring that the matches couldn't get underway. There have been seven such instances with the latest One-off test match between Afghanistan & New Zealand creating history by becoming the first test match in India to get abandoned without a ball being bowled.
Without Wasting much time Let's have a look at the list of test Matches abandoned without a ball being bowled.
The historic one-off test between Afghanistan & New Zealand was being played for the first time between the two nations at a neutral venue. Due poor drainage system coupled with heavy overnight rains on the eve of the test match ensured that no play was possible even though there was bright sunshine on the first two days of the match. The venue was criticized by both teams for poor management.
The first-ever test match that was abandoned without a ball being bowled was between the Arch-rivals England & Australia. England is known for its wet weather with rain playing a spoilsport almost every time. The intensity of the rain was such that the captains didn't even walk onto the field for once.
28 years later the story remained the same, nothing changed barring the year, and the result was the same again at Old Trafford.
Australia & England keep on making an entry into this list of test matches abandoned due to rain, however, this time around it was the Kangaroos who were hosting England. The game had a great buzz even before the game could get underway, however, all hopes were dashed due to heavy rainfall in Melbourne on all 5 days ensuring that another Test match got abandoned without a ball being bowled.
New Zealand features in the list for the second time, in this test match the rain played for the majority of the first 3 days ensuring that the test match couldn't get a green signal.
The Caribbean Islands are one such place where there is the maximum amount of rainfall is witnessed in terms of cricket-playing countries, the reason was the same again, due to heavy rainfall in Guyana the Test match couldn't reach its conclusion and hence got abandoned without a ball being bowled.
New Zealand for the third time has made an entry into this list, The test match between New Zealand & India in Dunedin was abandoned after it rained heavily for the four days of the test match. Later on, it was decided that both teams would be playing an ODI match instead.
The match between Pakistan & Zimbabwe was abandoned due to heavy rain and hence no play was possible for the entire 5 days.